Chapter 8: Introductions

Emily was excited, today she had gotten the mail and discovered two letters from the universities she had applied to.

She walked back up to her flat and saw that Sherlock was there watching telly. "Emily, I- Oh, what's that?" Sherlock asked about the mail.

"It's from The Royal Academy of Music... and Julliard," Emily said.

"Are you going to open them?" Sherlock asked.

Emily nodded and opened the first one from the Royal Academy. It was close to home, not the best school in the world, but it was certainly one of them. Emily would be lucky to go there, even if she had her heart set on Julliard.

"They accepted me!" Emily said with a smile.

She looked at Sherlock who was grinning back, "They'll be lucky to have you."

She started to open the one from Julliard as she said, "Well, I haven't opened this one yet, but I probably didn't get in any-" She suddenly stopped talking and put her hand over her mouth.

Sherlock furrowed his eyebrows, "What is it?"

"I..." Emily stared at the words in front of her for a moment, "I got in."

Emily smiled widely, and as much as Sherlock wished he could do the same, he had realized something... She was going to leave.

A few weeks later...

Emily was at the airport with Sherlock, she was going to the United States... without him.

Emily hugged her best friend, "You'll be fine, you have Mycroft and your parents. And you can always call too... just not in the middle of the night."

Sherlock hugged her back, "Who will I bring on cases now?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Emily said as she pulled away from the hug. "I'm going to miss you."

Sherlock smiled, "Me too."

"Goodbye Sherlock."

"Goodbye Emily."

Emily woke up in a hospital room with a figure standing at the foot of her bed. The figure was backlit, but the silhouette was unmistakable. The suit, the umbrella...

"Mycroft?" Emily groaned.

Her vision came into more focus and saw that it was in fact Mycroft. "Hello Emily, it's been a while."

Emily smiled slightly, "Please tell me I wasn't asleep for another two years."

Mycroft chuckled, "No, fortunately only a day this time. Sherlock just left, I finally convinced him to get some food."

"Good for you, that's a hard task."

Mycroft nodded, "Indeed."

There was a moment of silence before Emily spoke again, "Am I okay?"

Mycroft nodded, "All things considered, yes. You didn't even need surgery, you simply lost most of your blood."

"Mm, simply."

Mycroft looked at her with fake sternness and she laughed before he continued. "You're allowed to leave whenever you want, but I should remind you that you won't be as strong as before... I know you liked running, it'll take you a while to build back up your endurance."

Emily nodded, "So I can go? Now?"

Mycroft nodded, "Yes, I brought you some of your things. I assume you would not like walking around in a hospital gown."

"Thanks Mycroft." He exited the room so she could get changed.

Her clothing was a bit baggy, seeing as a significant amount of her muscle had practically disintegrated over her two-year slumber, but it wasn't unwearable.

She briefly examined her wrist. It wasn't too painful, there were some light bandages covering five stitches, but that was all. She exited the room and saw that Mycroft had waited for her.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, but where will I go exactly?" Emily asked.

"You can stay with me for a while until you can find some place of your own."

Emily smiled, "Thanks Mycroft."

"Don't mention it."

They walked down the halls in silence, until Emily heard a familiar voice.

"No John, I am not having anymore 'tofu chicken' I-" He suddenly stopped as he turned the corner and saw Emily and Mycroft standing in front of him.

"Sherlock," Emily said before walking right up to him and giving him a big hug.

"Emily." He hugged her back

John, who was standing there awkwardly, now knew why the man at the restaurant had said Sherlock had a type. Emily and John were fairly similar in terms of general appearance. They were both short, both had blonde hair, blue eyes, and they could both endure Sherlock's insufferable attitude.

When they parted, Emily turned to John, who stepped forwards. "Hi, I'm John Watson."

"Hi John, I'm Emily," She smiled and looked between the two men. "So... are you two...?" Mycroft snorted, John stuttered and looked away, while Sherlock looked at her with confusion. She looked up at Mycroft, who was barely holding himself together, and they both lost it.

Mycroft snickered and Emily laughed loudly, this went on for some time until John cleared his throat.

"God, you're not back for a day and already back to normal I see," Sherlock commented.

Emily smiled bittersweetly, "I have a lot to catch up on."

Sherlock stared at her and nodded, "Do you want to go for lunch?"

"Yeah, I'm starving," Emily replied.

"John?" Sherlock asked.

John shook his head, "No, I'll let you two catch up."

"Great, let's go."

Sherlock and Emily went off to get some food, leaving Mycroft and John behind.

"So... Sherlock and Emily... were they...?" John asked.

Mycroft shook his head, "No, they're both too stubborn."

"What's that mean?" John asked.

Mycroft rubbed his forehead, "She'll wait forever for him to make the first move, and Sherlock is an adamant believer that love doesn't exist."

"Hmph, well... looks like I've got some work to do then," John said. Mycroft raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Sherlock had been out all day with Emily, and John was enjoying the silence. When the pair returned John could tell by the laughter that filled the apartment. It was very clear to him that Emily was a very cheerful person, and it was strange because Sherlock was the exact opposite.

"So we had to break the ancient Chinese code, and they thought John was me!" Sherlock exclaimed.

"Why'd they think that?"

"Through a series of unfortunate coincidences."

Emily saw John sitting in his chair on a laptop, "Hi John!" She greeted, taking off her scarf and hanging it on their rack.

"Hello Emily," He stood, "Do you uh... want a cuppa?"

She smiled and shook her head, "No, I shouldn't be staying long."

"Oh how come?" John asked.

"Well I'm dead tired for starters, and-"

"Sherlock?!" Mrs. Hudson called from behind the door, "Is there a woman up there, cause it sounded like-" Mrs. Hudson opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed Emily. "Emily?" She asked in shock.

"Oh! Mrs. Hudson!" Emily exclaimed, "It's been so long!"

Mrs. Hudson went over and hugged the girl, "Oh I'm so glad to see you! You're alright?" She asked as they parted.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. And you! You haven't changed a bit!" Emily said with a kind smile.

John, in the meantime, was confused, "Wait, sorry. You two know each other?"

"Of course! We met when Sherlock came to visit me at uni. We went down to Florida for a few days and Sherlock picked up her case," Emily explained.

"Oh that was so long ago!" Mrs. Hudson laughed, "Well, I'm glad you're back dear."

Emily smiled, "Thanks Mrs. Hudson." Emily stretched her arms over her head and yawned, "Well, I think I'm gonna get going." She wrapped her scarf around her neck again and then turned to John, "It was nice to meet you, Dr. Watson." She then turned to Sherlock, "I'll come by sometime tomorrow."

Sherlock nodded, "Goodnight Emily."

"Goodnight Sherlock." Emily left Baker street and Sherlock moved to the window and watched her get into the cab, and continued watching until it drove off.

John watched Sherlock with slight amusement, and when Sherlock sat down in his chair Sherlock looked at him strangely, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing, just... when's the wedding?" John asked.

Mrs. Hudson snickered before leaving the flat, and Sherlock narrowed his eyes but said nothing.